The end of winter is now in sight which makes me very happy. As exciting as falling snow is, grey sludge the next day is not fun! These dark days have me longing for sunshine and anything bright and happy.

This post is mostly about how I decorated this cake and what I learnt, with the recipe thrown in at the end.

I decided I wanted a sunny buzzy bee theme for this cake. I made oval macarons which I filled with the same filling as the cake and then used edible marker to decorate the shells. I used 2 almond slithers for the wings which were just pushed into the filling.

I made 300g of American buttercream to crumb coat the cake and then covered the cake in yellow Candymelts to look like honey comb. I did this using a clean piece of bubbles wrap.

It’s the first time I’ve used the bubble wrap method and here’s what I learnt.

I think the outcome would look more natural if the bubble wrap was cut on the diagonal instead of straight. I will do this again as I love the outcome but I’d definitely cut the bubble wrap differently.

When measuring how much you need to go on your cake add at least 2 cm extra as once the candy melts are spread into the wrap it will not fit exactly.

Cut the bubble wrap about 3 cm taller than your cake, this way you have some bubble wrap to hold which doesn’t have chocolate on. I think the wrapping looks best a little taller than your cake too.

Candymelts set quickly so you will need to work quickly. Follow the instructions on the bag to melt the whole bag. Your cake will have been in the fridge setting your crumb coat and while it is still very cold wrap your cake. I laid the bubble wrap in line with the edge of the table I was working on. Spread the melted Candymelts evenly on top and lay your cake on its side with the base of the cake lining up with the edge of the bubble wrap. Start at one end of the bubble wrap and roll the cake with the already attached bubble wrap along the length the the bubble wrap covering your cake. Stand it up and leave it for a few mins before peeling the bubble wrap off carefully.

Passion Fruit Chiffon Cake

220g plain flour

175g caster sugar

1,5tsp baking powder

0,5tsp salt

60ml sunflower oil

3 large eggs

1 lemon zested

100ml unsweetened passion fruit juice

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 165°C.

Line the bottom of 2 x 5″ tins with a circle of baking paper.

Sift together the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk to ensure evenly distributed.

Make a well in the middle and add oil, egg yolks, lemon zest and passion fruit juice. Mix until smooth.

In a clean bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.

Fold yolk mixture into beaten egg whites 1/4 at a time until just mixed.

Gently pour batter equally into the two prepared tins.

Bake for 30-35 mins until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 mins before removing from the tins.

Passion Fruit filling

3tsp cornflour

1/2 cup passion fruit purée

2 TBS heavy cream

85g white chocolate chips

90g butter

2 TBS caster sugar

In a small saucepan whisk sugar and cornflour.

Add the passion fruit purée & cream and whisk together.

Bring to the boil while whisking continuously, turn the heat down to medium and continue whisking until thick, about 4 mins.

Remove from the heat & whisk in white chocolate chips until melted. Let cool slightly and whisk in butter.

Allow to cool completely before filling your cake. This could be made the day before and kept in the fridge over night.

Wow, this has turned into a very long blog post, if you lasted to the end and could make sense of my descriptions, congratulations! I hope you found it useful.

One of my favourite dessert choices when we go out for dinner is Italian Lemon Tart, the bright lemon filling with the crisp pastry base. Sweet vs tart, Perfection! These cookies are inspired by just this. The filling for the cookies is the same lemon filling used in lemon tarts, paired with the sweet lemon cookies, it works so well!

Lemon Cookie Sandwich Recipe (makes 12 Cookie Sandwiches)

115g softened butter

200g caster sugar

1 egg

Zest of 1 lemon (keep the lemon for the filling)

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarb

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 175C. Line 2 baking trays.

Sift the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt and stir with a whisk to evenly distribute.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale.

Add the egg and combine, add the vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all is mixed well.

Add the flour mixture and combine.

Place mixture into the fridge for 1 hour to make it easier to roll into balls.

To ensure you have equal sized cookies to match up at the end I weighed my dough at 24g per ball.

Place 6 per tray and gently flatten a little with your fingers.

Bake for 8-10 minutes while you weigh & roll the next batch of cookies. Continue until you have made 24 cookies.

Allow cookies to cool on the tray before removing as they will still be soft.

In the meanwhile make the lemon filling.

Lemon cream filling

235g sugar

2 eggs

135g butter

50ml lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

Place all ingredients into a small pot.

On a medium heat whisk continuously until the butter is all melted and all the ingredients are combined.

Turn the heat up to high and boil for 4 mins whisking all the time.

Take the mixture off the heat and as it cools it will become thicker. It will not become solid.

While it is cooling make your buttercream.

Vanilla buttercream filling

100g butter softened

200g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

Beat the butter for 2 mins until paler in colour.

Sift icing sugar into butter and beat for 6 mins.

Add vanilla extract and beat for 2 mins.

Choose a piping tip and fill a piping bag with the icing. Pipe an icing ring onto the cookies leaving a space in the middle for the lemon.

Spoon or pipe the lemon filling into the cookies and place another cookie on top.

I hope you give this recipe a try. The sweet lemon cookie with the tart lemon filling is perfect!

Happy New Year Lovely’s! I hope you all had a fabulous festive season with family and friends. I’m really excited for 2018, I love nothing more than starting a new planner, writing up my hopes and goals for a new year and working to reach them.

This blog will have a few changes this year, trying to bake, take pics, edit and write a post every week is rather constraining on my creativeness. I will rather post twice a month and hope to have a beautiful cake using different techniques and one other recipe to share. I will still be baking all the time and sharing pics and sometimes recipes on Instagram and Facebook so if you don’t follow me yet, make sure to find me so you don’t miss out.

I recently made this gorgeous woodland themed chocolate cake. I used my Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe (below), filled it with dark chocolate ganache, covered it with chocolate American Buttercream and chocolate bark shards. I decorated it using American buttercream which was piped onto the chocolate bark, I used a grass tip for the grass and added cute little ladybug and toadstool macarons to bring it to life. The door was made with polymer clay which is safe to use on food but is not edible.

Chocolate Sponge Cake – 6″ tins

225g softened butter

225g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour

55g cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160°C and line the base of your 6″ tins with a circle of baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy.

On a medium speed add eggs one at a time mixing each in completely before adding the next.

Add vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure everything is evenly mixed.

In a separate bowl sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and using a whisk mix evenly. Add half the dry mixture to the wet and combine. Scrape down the sides and mix in the other half.

Evenly divide your mixture between the two cake tins and spread it out evenly.

Bake at 160°C for 30-35 mins until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Chocolate Ganache

500g dark chocolate

200g cream

On half power on your microwave, heat the chocolate until softened but not melted.

Heat cream until almost boiling. Pour cream over chocolate and stir until glossy.

Chocolate Shards

Gently melt chocolate in the microwave until smooth and spreadable. Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper long enough to wrap around your cake plus a little overlap. Pour melted chocolate onto baking or parchment paper and spread into a thin layer. Place the second sheet of paper on top and roll into a tube. Secure loosely with a band or clip ensuring not to dent the paper. Once cooled and solidified, slowly unroll the paper creating bark shaped slithers to attach to your cake.

I hope you enjoyed this post and get a chance to bake a chocolate cake to enjoy with family and friends. If you have any ideas or requests of recipes you’d like to see in the future, please leave a comment below.

I enjoy the magic of Christmas with the twinkly lights and spending time with my family and friends but my favourite thing is all the great goodies to bake. Gingerbread is one of my favourite cookies for any time of year but when the house is all warm and smells so amazing, it really feels like the holidays. I also think that baked goods make awesome gifts.

This recipe is super easy and you don’t even need a rolling pin, a cool bottle of wine works great, hehe. If you don’t have or want cutters then just use a knife to cut cookies into similar sized pieces.

These are my kids favourite and everywhere we go over the holiday season a batch of gingerbread cookies are taken along.

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

400g flour

1tsp bicarb

2tsp ground cinnamon

2.5tsp ground ginger

0.25tsp ground all spice

125g soft brown sugar

4TBS syrup

75g melted butter

2 lightly beaten eggs

Sift all the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl and give them a good mix to ensure that the spices are evenly distributed.

Add the wet ingredients and mix with a paddle mixer until everything is combined and the mixture comes away from the bowl.

Tip the mixture onto cling film, wrap it up and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Over night definitely gives the spices an extra kick.

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Flour a clean work surface and roll your dough out to about 6mm think.

Cut your cookies out and place onto a baking tray leaving around 2cm between each cookie. They will not spread very much.

Bake for 8-10 mins.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

They are great as is or you could drizzle chocolate over the top and decorate them with royal icing, my favourite!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, please remember to tag me if you give this a try, I’d love to see!

We are truly in the grips of winter already and this is a wonderful time of year for baking! Spicey gingerbread cookies filling the house with an amazing smell, juicy fruit cake with a cup of tea & for me peppermint candy canes too.

I will baking all these goodies in the lead up to Christmas so keep your eyes peeled for fabulous festive treats. Today though, I have Cinnamon Apply Sandwich Cookies for you.

Cinnamon Apple Sandwich Cookies

115g melted butter

200g soft brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour

1tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp ground ginger

1/4tso all spice

1/2 tsp bicarbonate

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Sift flour, spices , bicarb, baking powder & salt and mix well.

Melt butter in a microwave safe container.

Put brown sugar & egg into a mixing bowl & mix until pale.

Add all the melted butter and a little flour at a time while mixing in a low speed.

Once all combined cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 160 C. Line baking trays with parchment paper.

Roll cookie dough into balls. To ensure that you get equal sized cookies to match up I recommend that you weigh each ball. I weighed mine to 28g each.

Place 6 round balls onto a lined baking tray and flatten a little with your fingers while still keeping them round. They will spread, don’t try to squeeze more on at a time.

Bake for 8-10 minutes while you weigh & roll the next batch of cookies.

Allow cookies to cool on the tray before removing as they will still be soft.

Filling

For the apple filling

1apple

1tsp cinnamon

2 TBS brown sugar

Wash and then peel an apple. Chop the apple into about 1cm sized pieces. Add cinnamon and sugar and mix well.

Place on a low heat for about 39 mins until the apple pieces have broken down and the mixture is thick. Leave to cool until ready to fill the cookies.

Buttercream filing

100g softened butter

200g icing sugar

2TBS caramel

Beat the butter for 2 mins until paler in colour.

Sift icing sugar into butter and beat for 6 mins.

Add caramel and mix for another 2 mins.

Choose a piping tip and fill a piping bag with the icing. Pipe a circle of icing onto the cookies. Fill the middle of the Cookie with cooked apple.

Sandwich the cookies and enjoy. These cookies will only be good for 2 days due to the moisture of the filling, they are best assembled shortly before being eaten.

If you give this recipe a try please post a pic & tag #sprinklesinthewild, it would also be great if you followed us in Instagram or Facebook.

After having a fabulous week in London at Fair Cake learning some new skills especially all about sugar flowers, I’m ready to bake in my own kitchen again. I tend to stick to my tried and tested recipes but I’ve recently become rather obsessed with caramel everything, which reminded me about this recipe which I haven’t made in ages!

You know by now that I love a recipe that is easy to change up and this one is perfect. Your choices are unlimited with what you choose to use as your surprise in the middle of your cupcakes. The original recipes calls for soft caramels but I couldn’t find any so I chose Rolos which are the perfect size.

Caramel Surprise Cupcakes

115g butter, softened

150g brown sugar

2 eggs

5g instant coffee granules

1TBS boiling water

280g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

115ml milk

12 soft caramels/ rolos/ mars bites etc

Preheat the oven to 175°C and place 12 cupcake liners into a muffin tin.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and give them a quick mix with a fork to break then down a bit. Slowly add the egg waiting for what you have added to be incorporated before adding more. Half way through you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl before continuing.

Dissolve the coffee with the boiling water and mix into the butter mixture.

Sift the flour and baking powder and give it a good mix to ensure it is well distributed.

Add half the flour and mix until combined.

Add half the milk and repeat with the rest.

Place a tablespoon full of mixture into each cupcake wrapper and place a caramel/rolo on top, push it in a little but not all the way to the bottom. Place another tablespoon of mixture on top to cover your surprise.

Bake for 20 mins or until a skewer inserted into the cupcake comes out clean. Try to skewer around your surprise or you won’t be able to tell anything about the cake.

Cool in the tin for 5 mins before removing to a wire wrack to cool.

You could eat these warm with a spoon of vanilla ice cream, plain as they are or wait until they have cooled down to pipe buttercream onto them.

Buttercream Rainbow

200g butter, softened

400g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Your choice of gel food colours

Beat the butter and sifted icing sugar for 8 mins.

Add vanilla extract and beat for another 2 mins.

Divide your icing into smaller bowls the same number as your chosen colours and colour your icing.

Put each colour into a separate small piping bag.

Cut a square sheet of cling wrap and lay it flat on the table. Pipe a stripe of each colour buttercream next to each other, you may need to add another layer on top to use up most of your buttercream.

Roll the cling wrap onto itself to make a big tube and twist one end. Place the open end into a large piping bag with your choice of tip inserted.

Decorate your cupcakes!

Enjoy your rainbow surprise, finding a caramel inside is almost like finding the pot of gold 😉

Welcome to week 2 of 4 rainbow sweet treats. Meringues are really easy to make with some basic baking equipment and a few different gel food colours! They are an incredibly popular sweet treat as they are also gluten-free.

Tools you will need… Baking tray with parchment paper or reusable liner. Mixer with whisk attachment. Piping bag and tip, if you want to pipe them, you could just spoon the mixture onto the tray. Gel food colours and a small paint brush only used for food. I used gel colours red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple but you could just choose 3 or 4 for a similar effect.

Meringue Recipe

3 egg whites

Caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

Heat your oven to 180°C.

Ensure that your mixer bowl and whisk are clean and grease free as meringue will not whip up if there is any water or grease.

Weigh your egg whites and take note of what they weigh.

Weigh your caster sugar in a heat proof bowl. Caster sugar should be double the weight of the egg whites. Place your caster sugar in the oven at 180°C for 5 mins.

After 5 mins start to whip your egg whites, once white and foamy, take the sugar out the oven and slowly add one tablespoon of sugar at a time while the mixer is going.

Turn the oven heat down to 100°C.

Once all the sugar is added, scrape down the sides and add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Whip for 5 mins and test a little meringue between your fingers, if it still feels grainy whip for another 5 mins. Once it feels smooth and will stand up in a point, you are done.

To make the rainbow colours: I tried to make you a video of this but I had the camera angle wrong and all you can see is the paint brush but not the piping bag, oops!

Place your tip into the piping bag and holding it securely, dip your paint brush into your first colour, I did yellow and paint a stripe inside the piping bag from just inside the tip to halfway up the bag. Rinse and dry your brush and do the next colours until you have filled the inside of the piping bag.